


Stray

by badlifechoices



Series: fate is such a fancy word [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Jason Has a Thing for Strays, Pavel Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-14 22:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4582788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badlifechoices/pseuds/badlifechoices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the landing party has to leave 21st century Earth in a hurry, Pavel gets left behind. At least he's not entirely alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stray

Panic that tasted like bile crept up his throat and he could barely swallow it down as he tore apart the room searching for just anything. He couldn’t believe that they’d actually left him here, in this place and time he wasn’t familiar with. But all evidence indicated that this was indeed the case. A dry sob forcing its way past his lips, he went back out of the door and into the room the doctor had chosen for himself. With the beds nicely made there wasn’t a single thing that hinted at someone having stayed here for the last days. There was no trace of the people who’d come from the future to save the world – again. It would’ve been but a bad dream had they not left one of their own behind.

Pavel leant back against the wall of the corridor, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart and forcing his shaking hands to still. What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go? The thoughts were racing in his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he counted to ten. Maybe this was all just a bad dream. Maybe none of this had really happened and he was still in his bed, fast asleep. Surely, when he opened his eyes, he’d find that the morning sun was just creeping over the high buildings and the doctor was knocking on his door to call him down for breakfast.

When he opened his eyes though, he was back in the dimly lit corridor with the peeling wallpaper and the water stains on the ceiling. A glance into his room confirmed that it was still empty.

Steps. There were steps coming down the hallway. Pavel hastily looked up, hoping that it would be one of his crewmates. It was the stranger, the one who had saved him today, who’d shared his cigarettes with him. The cigarettes that lead to this stupid argument with the doctor that caused him to run away in the first place. But he wasn’t immature enough to blame the other for his own childish behaviour. And yes, running away was definitely a childish sentiment. He didn’t even want to know what the doctor must be thinking of him now… If he was even thinking about him. It _had_ apparently been easy enough to just leave him here.

The Russian pushed the thought aside. “They left me.” He stated, trying and failing to keep his voice from trembling. “They just left me.” The other seemed to understand or at least pretended to because he just nodded. He’d taken off that weird helmet but the domino mask still covered most of his face. Pavel couldn’t quite tell if he was pitying him or just indifferent. Not that it mattered. As far as Pavel was concerned this guy was everything he had now, the only person he knew in this god-forsaken century.

The park! The thought only crossed his mind when he was thinking about how he had no place to go now. Maybe they were still in the park, waiting for him to show up so they could beam back to the ship! Without as much as a word – he wasn’t really sure how he was supposed to explain this to the other guy anyway because ‘I have to see if my friends are still around so I can catch my ride back to the future’ didn’t sound particularly convincing – Pavel hurried down the corridor again, past the confused or maybe amused looking stranger.

He was unable to tell if the man followed him as he ran down the street and to the old iron gate of the park but it didn’t really matter anyway. Of course he felt bad for not thanking him properly or even apologising for the trouble but he had more important things to worry about right now. Desperately clinging to the hope that the others would still be here, he hurried past the playing children and dog owners parading their pets around. Only when he reached the exact spot where they’d beamed down a few days ago, he halted.

There was no one there.

A squirrel stared at him from the branches of a nearby tree and a few birds were sitting in the freshly mowed grass.

From the corner of his eye he could see a big brown dog sniffing at a wooden bench.

But he could find no trace of his crewmates, his _friends._ Only the wrapper of a candy bar, tossed aside by someone who might or might not have been from this time.

Pavel refused to accept it. He refused to believe that they would just abandon him like that. Of course it was their mission to get back safely but he’d always thought they’d come back for him. Kirk always insisted on never leaving anyone behind! And even if he had decided to follow the orders of Starfleet Command, then surely one of the others would’ve reminded him that they had to stay and look for him, right? Hikaru, Hikaru would never just go without him. Or Nyota, or the Doctor. The Commander would probably cite the regulations as he always did but in the end he was almost as protective of their little family as the rest of them were.

They wouldn’t just leave, would they?

“Hekahru! Commander Spock! Doktor McCoy!”

The navigator found himself calling out, desperately shouting the names of his friends in the hope of receiving an answer. He didn’t care if people stared at him, didn’t mind that some of the children pointed at him with their fingers. All he wanted was for someone to call his name, for Hikaru to greet him with his usual slightly crooked smile and ruffle his hair. He wanted the Doctor to scold him, give him a lecture about just running off. Oh, he’d rather apologise to McCoy for being immature and rude than accept that he was indeed all alone.

“Hekahru! Doktoor!”

He felt hot tear on his cheeks and when he tried to call again, his voice broke. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening!

“Hey, it’s alright.” Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, someone with a very nice and slightly rough voice. Pavel didn’t need to turn around to know that it was the same person who’d saved his butt before. For some reason he was glad to know that the other was still around. That he hadn’t just left after Pavel didn’t even thank him for saving him like any normal person would probably do.

“They vill come back.” He whispered, more to himself than to the other man. “I know zey vill come back to get me.” But as much as he wanted to believe it, the longer he stood there staring into the for once clear sky and trying to make out the familiar shape of the Enterprise, he knew that it was a lie.

“Sure they will.” The other sounded about as convinced as the rational part of Pavel’s brain did. “But let’s get outta here before someone calls the cops. Wouldn’t want you to end up at the funny farm with the other crazy folks.”

And really, the navigator knew he probably shouldn’t trust this guy he’s only just met and who didn’t even tell him his name but for some reason he does. Maybe because he really is all Pavel has left now and if he ends up being murdered by a thug after all, there’s not really anything he can do about it, is there? So he nodded, scrubbing a hand over his face to wipe away the tears and followed the other out of the park on shaky legs.

“I do not know vhat to do now.” He admitted quietly once they had left through the rusty gate. All he had left were a few coins and some paper notes, and he doubted they would get him very far, and the clothes he was wearing. The others had taken everything else with them, probably to ensure that no one would be able to find out about them and where they had come from.

The stranger only looked at him with his face still hidden behind the mask and then shrugged. “You’re gonna come with me for now.” And when Pavel went on to ask why he was doing all this, he shrugged again. “Guess I just know what it means to be a stray and have nowhere to go.” They didn’t talk after that and the Russian didn’t even complain when the other gestured for him to get on the motorbike. He only wrapped his arms around the older man and rested his forehead against his back.

 

“This is me.” The other broke the silence between them and brought the bike to a screeching halt in front of what looked like an abandoned apartment building. “I know it’s not exactly the Ritz but it’ll do. Hope you don’t mind cockroaches or bats.”

Pavel hastily shook his head though he wasn’t quite sure if he minded any of the two. To be honest, he’d only ever seen two roaches in his whole life and bats only in the zoo in San Francisco. “You liwe here?” He asked because in his time people wouldn’t even be allowed to live in places like that.

The stranger grinned. “Sorry if it’s not what you’re used to.” He probably thought Pavel was a snob or something for talking like that and the Russian hurried to assure him that it was alright. Really, in his situation he should be glad that even had a place to stay.

“Ah!” He fished the two notes and a bunch of coins out of the pocket of his jeans and offered it to the other man. “Here, zis is all I haff. I hope eet is enough.” Because he’d read that people in this century usually wanted money as compensation for pretty much anything and he didn’t want to anger his new found friend.

But the man only shook his head and waved his hand in a gesture that Pavel didn’t quite understand. “Keep it, I don’t need it.”

The Russian frowned. _How strange_. And here he’d thought everything in this time was about money. When the other actually showed no intention of taking the money, he put it back into his pocket. Quietly, because he didn’t really know what to say, he followed the man as he pushed his bike into a narrow alleyway behind the building and then made his way to the front again. The door creaked when he pushed it open, opening into a dark corridor. The whole place sent a shiver down Pavel’s spine but he told himself he had to be brave, if he wanted to survive in this place and time, and stepped into the darkness.

The building smelled like mould and old wood but at least the walls were dry. They climbed up a dozen sets of stairs until they reached the top floor. Someone had fixed the holes in the roof with some kind of plastic tarpaulin so there was no water dripping from the ceiling. It didn’t really look like anyone lived here permanently with just the single mattress on the floor and a bunch of other stuff. Pavel did his best not to look too closely at what looked like an entire arsenal of weapons – firearms, knives and other things he couldn’t name – that was neatly lined up on the battered table. Who was this guy?

He turned around to see the man leaning against the doorframe, obviously watching him closely. For some reason, even now, Pavel felt like he could trust him. The man might be dangerous but he’d been kind to him – maybe too much so – apparently without having some kind of ulterior motive.

“Zank you.” He said before he forgot it again and it actually sounded like he meant it. “For eweryzing.”

The man cocked his head as if playing with a thought. “You’re not from around here.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement. An invitation for him to start talking.

Pavel hesitated. What should he tell him? Surely he couldn’t say the truth, not only would he be violating a direct order and probably fucking with the Prime Directive but he also doubted that the other would believe him in the first place.

“Don’t worry. I know a guy who can do actual magic, one of my best friends-“ The navigator noticed how his expression changed slightly at the word _friend._ “Is a princess from outer space and let’s not forget the guy who can fly and shoot laser beams out of his eyes. I doubt your story’s gonna shock me.”


End file.
